open When hearts grow cold. Chapter one: Shadows fall [RP]

[Driz 1,552]

Before Maya's question could be answered, their conversation was interrupted when Crowley came back and ordered the group to enter the castle in order to meet up with the Princesses inside. Immediately, her smile descended into a bored, peeved frown as she watched everypony else moving towards the main hall. Reluctant, she took a deep breath and followed them.

 

As they walked, Maya tried to ignore the instructions given by the middle-ages Pegasus or anything related to the procedures regarding the long-awaited meeting. She did accept their invite, thus agreeing on undergoing said procedures, but the fact that she didn't very much enjoy being in the presence of the Royalty - because of reasons - remained unchanged. In fact, Celestia herself was most likely already aware of Maya's displeasure, so their reunion should be interesting nonetheless.

 

Once they arrived at the throne room, the immediate sight of the sisters didn't help much on cheering her up. After everypony in the room picked their seats, she chose one as distant as possible from Celestia and Luna, which happened to be next to Wish Scribe: one of the ponies she hadn't managed to talk to yet. Maya kept distracting herself by looking around the room, admiring the extravagant decorations and whatnot, until she locked on Wish and suddenly came to a realization.

 

@, 

 

"Hey, I just noticed... You're the only earthling in our group!" She said in a tone of discovery. "I mean Earth Pony... Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't use these kinds of terms."

Edited October 22, 2014 by Driz

[Scribblegroove 565]

@, @, @@PathfinderCS, @@Driz

 

Smiling lightly at Pathfinders question, Celestia could feel that the stallion was not very confident with himself. "Concerning your roles, we will get to that in a minute. You should not doubt yourself Pathfinder. There might be a few other ponies capable to fill your role as well, but your talents are rare and we had our reasons for choosing your over the other cartographers in equestria." She gestured to all the maps laid out in front of her. "And I know now how difficult your task can be! Busying myself with all these maps the last few days made me realize that having a professional on the subject around could be incredibly useful."

 

Stretching over the table, Luna put her hoof down. "But, where you will be going, and what your mission is." She reminded her sister, who gave returned an apologetic look. "As you may know, recently, an artifact has been stolen from the Canterlot library. To be precise, it was Starswirl the bearded's own notebook. Though it may seem something quite trivial, that notebook holds information that, in the wrong hooves, can cause disasters." She paused for a moment. Crowley seemed to have gathered the documents that he had been looking for. Shoving away a few of the maps and notes that they did not need, he laid out the documents in front of them. One was a large and detailed map of Equestria, with a few highlights near the Crystal Empire, Ponyville and Canterlot. Then there was a folder with reports of stolen goods that were supposedly stolen by the same criminal organisation. And finally, a report on the stolen artifact in the Canterlot library. Then Crowley decided to sit down in a chair at the right head of the rectrangular table. He busied himself with sorting a few of the other documents there, but he was clearly listening to the conversation.

 

"On the subject of the criminal organisation and the other thefts... We fear that all of those could be connected. Each of the thefts have a relatable method. The thief quickly charges into the building, making use of small spells to circumvent the generic safety measures, but charging through most of the others. Then when the thief finally acquired the object, they make use of a powerful long-range teleportation spell. Up until now we've had no clue on how it is done. Some of the thefts have even reported pegasi or earh ponies teleporting over a hundred meters away from the crime scene. We have ofcourse traced where the thieves have teleported towards, but we can only find out long after the culprit has gone." Luna took one of the reports and shoved it over to the others. It was a report on stolen magical gemstones. Lenses to be exact. Pieces of magical research equipment, stolen from the school from gifted unicorns in Canterlot. Pointing at a certain drawing, she continued. "This sign was found again and again, scorched into the ground where the thief teleported away. We do not know what it means, but it quite obviously connects all the thefts." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luna's expression darkened. "The most frightening thing about this is that in some situations the thief had charged straight through a magical nullifier. The thief was completely unable to cast spells, and still they managed to teleport away. We think that this is either the work of a very powerful enchanter, who infuses certain items with the power to transport ponies like this, or a very powerful mage recalls the thief once he has acquired the object from a great distance. We still do not know precisely, but the fact that these thieves have access to magic this powerful is... terrifying." She said, with a chill visibly crossing her spine. She was genuinely afraid of what this could mean.

 

"The Canterlot library was equipped with a very large and powerful nullification field. The only way that the teleportation spell could have worked is by being teleported away from the outside over a distance of two hundred and fifty meters. That is a spell that even we could not pull off without the help of others." Celestia continued on Luna's story. Clearly she was not trying to brag, but simply empathising the fact that the magic used was very powerful. "What we wish of you is simple. We want you to use your talents to trace down this organisation and find out what their plan is, and to what extent they are organised. Perhaps it's several groups that have agreed to work together and are simply using the same method. We want you to travel off to either Ponyville or the Crystal Empire, where most of the reports have been coming from, and investigate. Your main goal is to retrieve Starswirls' notebook, but any information you find on the way will be of great value to us."

 

Crowley decided to speak up. "Concerning your roles, we put this team together because of many reasons, the main ones being;" Crowley looked at Wish Scribe. "You because of your adventurous spirit and all-round experience. You will be venturing into places that will require improvisation and wits, and if you are even half as talented as your brother is, you will easily fill that role."

 

Quickly moving on, he looked at Maya Clarity. "We selected you because of your talents. Though you, and others, have been prosecuted in the past for that specific kind of magic, we believe that is was unrighfully so and sorrow over what has happend in the past. Your ability to identify and study magical energies, and your powers to consult the supernatural will be almost essential to this mission." He tried not to reveal too much of Maya's past to the others, since it was not up to him to tell her story for her, so he stayed as vague as possible. Maya knew what he meant.

 

He then looked at Pathfinder. "You for similar reasons as Wish Scribe. We needed a navigator and cartographer, but not just one that could read maps and select routes. We needed someone who was creative, adventurous and who could make connections. You have tracked down ancient temples with minor information simply by using your wits and intellect, and that is exactly what we need you to do with these crimes. Make connections according to their locations and nature, and draw a conclusion from it."

 

Finally, he looked at Whisper. "And you for your experience with infiltration. Both for the reconstruction of the crimes as potentially infiltrating places yourself to acquire more information or perhaps eventually the notebook itself." Again, he attempted to stay as vague as possible, giving away as little as he could while making sure Whisper understood what he meant. Of course, the others would eventually find out themselves, but it was still in good order to let them tell their own story themselves.

 

After Crowleys anecdote, Celesetia spoke up again. "Now we are sure you will have many questions. We aren't sure how solid our explanation is. We've been busying ourselves with this so much with this that I'm not sure how clear and understandable it is to you." Luna complemented her sister. "Information that seems obvious to us might be unkown to you. We have several reports here, so we have more than enough information to answer your questions."

 

[Convergence 83]

Whisper began to form a vague picture of the criminal organization during the princesses' speech. Their meagre facts mixed with her own assumptions, forming the basis of her vision. The result was a crude idea of what the organization was and what it stood for. It was not much, but it was a start. A lead for her to act on.

 

What interested Whisper the most was the symbol. She had seen it before, and had a vague idea of what it might mean. Whisper had already decided what her first step should be, "but do I really want to work with these ponies?"  She politely waited until they finished speaking, mentally documenting every important fact said.

 

Whisper was the first to break the silence. Glancing quickly at Luna and then at Celestia, she said "you both have been very kind today. I would like to extend to you the kindness of being blunt. I know the three of you know far more about me than my colleagues, but you all will learn far too much in the time to come. There is no use in hiding it. I do not wish to offend either of you, as I have a great deal of respect for you Celestia and for you Luna. I know you both have traits that I highly value. Know what I am about to say is not a personal attack, it is a criticism of an outdated form of government that only hinders the progression of society."

 

"If I am to accept this mission, I would be working with you. With you," Whisper paused as she put her hoof down on the table,"as equals. As such, I need to understand your strategy. My question to you is this. Why instead of hiring any trusted official, princess or established entity to solve this problem. Why would you initially select a group of civilians... while not quite civilians, but still? Specifically, why in Equestria would you want to work with a pony that holds no loyalty or fealty to the crown? A pony that you well know will betray you at the drop of a hat if she knows that by doing so would be better for the greater good. With all due respect, don't give me the standard 'we were desperate and you were the best fit for the job.' No, there are many ponies like me, some of which are loyal to you. So, why me?"

 

"I will not work for you, but if you wish to be partners I will do all that I can. But as partners, I will only give you as much as you give me. If you accept these terms, I know that together we will be able to put an end to this organization. If not, I will leave now. I will not purposefully jeopardize your mission."

Edited October 23, 2014 by Golden Shield

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Wish Scribe.

 

@@Driz,

 

"Huh. You don't say? That's stra..."

 

The Princesses started to speak, and Wish quietness down to listen. She caught most of the facts and understood most of what she caught, only misinterpreting a few bits and pieces as far as she was concerned. It was all a bit much in the way of words - she would have preferred to just be given a direction and told to recover whatever it was. All if this 'magic' talk gave her a headache.

 

Still, she preoccupied herself during the explanations that made little sense to her by admiring the maps. They were far more ornate than the cheap ones that she tracked her journey on up in charcoal, though probably less practical for travelling long distances. They were far too large for a start...

 

@,

 

Finally, they finished. As expected, it was one of the unicorns that started talking first: bargaining for power as far as Wish could tell: as Scribe had told her they always would many years ago. While this particular piece of information hadn't exactly always proven true, it tended to serve well as a general rule.

 

Well that wasn't going to work if she had anything to say about it!

 

"Vengeful Celestia!" She muttered out of habit - oblivious to its implications in present company. "It's always the bloody Unicorns isn't it? 'I'm so high and mighty, I can't acknowledge that there could ever be a reason for me to listen to someone else'... Typical!"

 

She glanced to her side remembering Maya, who had proven to be quite polite thus far.

 

@@Driz,

 

"Uh, present company accepted." She muttered sheepishly before turning back to the table and pointing accusingly at Whisper.

 

@,

 

"There is no way that I'm taking orders from you!"

Edited October 23, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Convergence 83]

@

 

Whisper was expecting opposition, since the pegasus was obviously given strict orders to ignore her, the armour clad pony seemed like the next logical choice

 

"There is no way that I'm taking orders from you!"

 

Calmly, Whisper lifted her hoof off the table and leaned in closer to the mare known as Wish Scribe. "And I would think less of you if you did." She glanced around the table, "I'm sorry I guess I didn't explain myself well enough. I am not fighting for power, I am fighting against it. What I am proposing is a group where each of us is equally responsible for each other. I will not blindly accept any order from the princesses or from you. Instead, together we will develop a strategy that works for all of us. Likewise, I expect each of you to do the same. Reach a consensus, instead of being told what to do. Does that sound more reasonable?"

Edited October 23, 2014 by Golden Shield

[Scribblegroove 565]

@, @, @@Driz, @@PathfinderCS

 

"Oh for the love of..!" Crowley started, his face showing how infuriated he was with Whispers completely innapropriate behaviour, almost standing up from his chair as if he wanted to punch her. But one suggestive look from Luna was enough to make him sit down and grumble silently on his own. 

Celestia was the first of the two to speak up again. "Let's not let things get out of hoof this quickly, we have only just begun. Perhaps we haven't been as clear as we'd like to be as well. Wish Scribe, if you are offended by Whispers behaviour please understand that her questions are perfectly justified." With a bit of a dissapointed look she turned to Whisper; "Although perhaps formulated a bit bluntly. But not to worry, it helps getting to the case more quickly..." For a moment she fell silent and sighed, a cue for Luna to join in on the conversation. 

 

"First of all, specifically about you, there may be about four other ponies in equestria that have your specific set of skills at your level of expertise. One of them has already been sent on a mission to zebrica, another would surely have ignored our request for help. The third has been missing for over two weeks now and..." She looked at Crowley very suggestively. "The fourth has other duties and responsibilities that make him far too valuable to send on a mission like this..." She explained.

 

Celestia gave an acknowledging nod towards Luna, showing that she agreed on what Luna had said. Then she turned back to Whisper. "But it is not only that. Though your actions in the past may have been a bit controversial, we know your strong sense for what is right will help the others stay on the right path as well. We didn't call any of you here to blindly follow our orders, we specifically mentioned that in the letters... We need help. We need you to help us figure out what to make of this situation, and where to go next. We need all of you, and we know that you are all more than capable enough to solve this mystery with us..." Again, Celestia sighed, this time because she didn't like where the conversation was heading. A bit regally, she decided to get this back on track again. "I think we are at an agreement, though I think the idea that we weren't was a misunderstanding to begin with. On the subject of the mission, do any of you have an idea of where the next lead could be?"

 

Luna jumped in again, like the sisters tended to do a lot of the time, closely connected as they were. "We have a few suggestions ourselves, but perhaps you have ideas or questions yourself. Surely one of you must possess information that we do not..." She explained, urging the group to get into action, to encourage some kind of brainstorm. Crowley decided to speak up again as well. "My idea was to let Maya have a look at the crime scene. There's a lot of magical energy floating around there, maybe she can do something with it... And we should let Pathfinder have a look at the maps and stolen goods. Maybe he can connect the pieces that we cannot."

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove, @, @@Driz, @

 

PATHFINDER

 

As his role became more clearer, he began to understand his place in the team much more. The fact that the royal sisters apparently had that much faith in his abilities was a testament in itself. That was overshadowed though by what they were told about the criminal organization behind the thefts. The mere mention of the possibilities of their use of magic sent a shudder through his body. He was somewhat familiar with the art of enchantments from his journeys to ancient temples and lost cities, but to think that magic could be at work here...not to mention the fact that there could be VERY powerful mages at work...

 

...indeed the task was daunting, but again, there was faith in his abilities, and he was going to do what he could to prove their faith right. His attention was drawn to Whisper though, who had stated rather bluntly her conditions on joining this quest. He could understand her misgiving, just as much as he could understand why Wish Scribe had misgivings about her words; misunderstood as they were. He was somewhat nervous that tensions would flare, though thankfully Whisper seemed able to calm them. Thankfully, the sisters had intervened.

 

He listened to them with intent again. There was indeed a great fear running through the princess' veins, and whatever it was they feared, it could affect the entire world as they knew it. He nodded, listening to Crowley. ​"I can't argue with that too much. I'll look over and study whatever materials you have, though maps alone won't likely be enough. I'll have to have access to your libraries as a situation like this could require deeper research. Honestly, this organization almost sounds like a cult of sort, and there are plenty of those around in the deep places of the world," he said, recalling various adventures of the past. "Of course, if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. It'd be foolish of me to turn anything away."

 

​"To support Whisper's words, I do agree that as a team we must work as a team. Considering the implications, we really don't have any choice. However, I will support Wish Scribe's wish in that having a central authority might not be the best of ideas. Again, while trust levels may not be high in the group right now, we have to work with our individual talents for the greater good. I have no intentions of issuing orders, but I do believe we all have something to offer," he said, with a little more confidence.

[Convergence 83]

Whisper fought herself to remain calm during their response. Attempting focus her entire attention on what was currently said, instead of one sentence that kept ringing through her head.

 

She looked at Crowley very suggestively. "The fourth has other duties and responsibilities that make him far too valuable to send on a mission like this..." She explained.

 

After everypony finished speaking, Whisper could contain herself no longer. She turned her head to stare at Crowley, a grin growing on her face. "You, seriously? That is just too perfect. We should duel sometime, work off that frustration you have from dealing with me. I would enjoy that immensely."

 

Taking a deep breath, Whisper straightened herself in her chair and calmed down. "Sorry I'll try to contain myself. I think each of us should take a turn describing what they see in this information. I'll go first. One thing jumps out at me. The most important thing a criminal organization will ever do is choose their symbol. It gives insight into the ideals, strategies and thought process of the organization." Grinning she looked up at Celestia, "for example, if you don't yet know what the Half Sun symbolizes by now, I have failed my life's work miserably."

 

She returned to a more serious composure, "but this is different than the Half Sun. This symbol is like an encryption, trying to hide the information it pertains to the general public. I have strong theories about what it stands for, but its true significance eludes me. I won't bore you with them, I have a point to my rambling. I have seen it before."

 

"There was once a mage, that I had a," Whisper chuckled, "lets say intimate relationship with. He was an authority within the council of magi. A good pony, but he let his thirst for power corrupt him absolutely. He could not be... saved," a strange glint flashed momentarily in her eyes. "After the fact, I searched his belongings for any sign of what might have caused his transformation."

 

"One particular tomb drew my attention. I can't say why, only that it did. This book had that image plastered in it multiple times. I could not understand its contents, only that it referred to a society known as the 'mages of the ancients.'" She paused and looked around the table. "At the time I dismissed it for typical scholar jargon. But it seems that that book would be essential to us. Lucky for us, it is somewhere within the Canterlot library. I made sure that his will donated his tombs and potentially powerful artifacts to the library."

 

Looking over at  Maya, Whisper continued, "perhaps Maya or one of the princesses may have better luck understanding its contents. That is the only lead I know of at this point."

Edited October 24, 2014 by Golden Shield

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Wish Scribe.

 

"So what you're saying..." Wish interjected tersely as Whisper finished speaking. "... Is that yet another Unicorn went power-crazy, and that you know all this because you went rooting through his stuff to try and snatch a bit of that power for yourself?"

 

She blinked angrily. Well, as angrily as one is capable of blinking. This was a perfect example of why spellcasters couldn't be trusted - they didn't have even a trace of humility or selflessness!

 

"Princess, I don't know If I can do this: I'm not going to just wait for her to stab us in the back the minute we find something she wants."

 

She looked towards the monarchs and quickly rephrased her question, attempting to at least try and sound diplomatic.

 

"I mean... uh, even if she's being genuine, if magic is corrupting mages, surely sending more of them after it is a bad idea?"

[Driz 1,552]

Maya remained silent as she listened to the discussion that unfolded at the meeting table. For the most part, they seemed to be sorting out the roles each one would be playing during the search, which she didn't really care much about since the objective was already established. However, there also appeared like some trust issues were being debated, specifically between the earth mare, Wish Scribe, and Whisper. Usually, Maya wouldn't bother getting involved into such personal details. But since she was going to be travelling alongside those ponies - whether she wanted it or not - she felt like putting in her two bits for once. As soon as she found an opening, she began speaking:

 

@,

 

"If I had a guess, I'd say you don't like Unicorns very much, earthling." She looked at Wish Scribe with ironic eyes. "I believe everypony here has a reason for having accepted this invite. I sure do, and lemme give you a hint: it wasn't to make friends. If you don't trust one another, if you think mages suck, I really do not give a damn. Right now, I'll focus solely and entirely on the objective, and I really wished everypony did the same." Maya rose up from her seat and placed both of her forehooves on the table. She then stared directly at Celestia and Luna from across the room.

 

@@Scribblegroove,

 

"I just wanted to make something clear, 'your majesty': I do agree on working together as a team with this group you've gathered, and I actually think this will be a good thing. But I'm not doing this to please any of you Royals. I'm sure you understand why." Maya concluded, bold and harsh, as she walked over near the exit.

 

"Let's go to the library and get this over with, shall we?"

Edited October 24, 2014 by Driz

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@Driz, @, @, @@PathfinderCS

 

"You wouldn't last thirty seconds..." Crowley grumbled as his expression towards Whisper resembled nothing but rage. But he managed to contain himself. He turned to Wish Scribe. "Nopony is going to stab anyponies back. The princesses believe they can trust Whisper. So should you." He said quite bluntly. "It's not the magic that corrupts mages, it's the thirst for power that does, and it corrupts anything and anypony..."

 

Celestia seemed to be quite saddened by the way things had developed. She had anticipated on them immediately getting along. Of course that had been foolish of her. "Maya, I understand the grudge you hold against us, but we aren't asking you to do this for us. We're asking you to do it for everypony. Please understand that..." She explained to the unicorn, her voice soft and gentle.

 

"It seems to me we have a plan. We will go to the library where Whisper and Maya can research the symbol and magical residue. Wish Scribe, Pathfinder and Crowley can take the maps and documents and go through them once more. As Pathfinder requested he can access the library as well." She explained. "Agreed?" She added, to make sure her proposal didn't sound like an order, like her voice tended to make it sound quite often. She stood up and headed towards Maya, who was going to the library herself. "Follow me..." She said to Maya and Whisper as she steadfastly moved ahead. Celestia stood up as well and started heading towards the door.

 

 

"I believe another guest will arrive soon. He is late, but I'm certain he will show up eventually. The organisation we have spoken of has stolen something from him too, and thus experienced it first-hoof. He offered us his help, and since he is a very competent alchemist and healer we gladly accepted..." He said to Pathfinder and Wish Scribe. At the same time, he stood up and gathered all the documents they required, tucking them under his wings and clenching them to his chest. 

[Convergence 83]

@, @@Driz

 

Whisper turned to look sadly at Wish Scribe. "Crowley is right. I know that it is difficult to trust ponies like me at first. Perhaps in time you will come to realize the type of pony I really am," she nodded towards the princesses, "as the sisters have."

 

Whisper stood up and turned towards Maya, who was now near the exit of the throneroom. Her face growing serious, she said in a soft but firm voice, "there is no reason for such antagonism. Besides you aren't truly being objective if you let your emotions get the better of you."

 

"As much as I don't want to admit it, Crowley is right about everything." Turning slowly towards the pegasus, Whisper began to grin, "I would never last 30 seconds. But I would never have to last so long." Whisper mockingly blew a kiss, "I Can't wait." She started to walk towards the door. "I like that plan Luna."

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

@@Scribblegroove, Mastema hated being late. However it was necessary that he cataloged the missing ingredients. They seemed random but there was a pattern, he just couldn't see it. No matter... he wasn't focused right now and it wouldn't be of any use. He was invited by the Princesses, there seemed to be more than just this in it. He had heard of some book been stolen and he had every will to find and punish those thieves. They had stolen from him! They were getting in the way of his work!

"Disrespectful, insolent, little..." he didn't understand he was in the room until he was looked upon. His demeanor changed into a more respectful one and he bowed to the Princesses. He had simple white robes and wore a caduceus amulet on his neck. His body was full of tribal tattoos classical to the zebrican tribes. They almost felt alive licking his face down from the neck from which they faded into his snout. Near his flank they formed an alchemy circle within which a heart was drawn in tribal form. His black and white hair with shades of gray. He didn't have a moikana like the rest of the zebras. He was an outcast and thus the hairstyle showed.

"I am sorry i got a little distracted. I was thinking about the thieves you mentioned. I am sorry for being late... it was necessary that i make sure i had what i was missing all recorded. I might have a theory about what this series of robberies might mean. But i require knowledge... knowledge of what else i missed while i was late."

 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

@@Scribblegroove, @, @@Driz, @, @@IridscentNionios

 

"All right, that could've gone better," Pathfinder thought to himself. Of course he didn't expect to go perfectly smooth considering the circumstances, but the golden unicorn hadn't expected outright hostility from some of the ponies here. In any case, what was said had been said. It seems that Wish Scribe has a certain mistrust of magic users; probably not unicorns specifically. As it stands, he would be working with her, along with Crowley, at the onset. Their task was set for them, and he knew the direction.

 

Of course, he wasn't entirely sure of what clues to be looking for. All he knew was that the Crystal Empire & Ponyville were also targeted along with Canterlot. He was sure though that with the help of Crowley & Wish Scribe that they'd track out a pattern and go from there. Of course, he hoped that his relations with Wish didn't sour considering her mistrust. He'd work to earn her trust at least.

 

Indeed, it takes trust to work as a team in dangerous circumstances. He knew that from personal experience himself. In the end, he approached her, "If I read you correctly, I don't think it's unicorns in general you mistrust. It's basically magic users who let that power go their head. In any case, I don't intend to issue any orders to you or anyone. Especially at the start of all things, we can work together and hopefully form a good partnership," he said with a smile.

 

With that said, he was about to get a look at the available maps when a new visitor approached the throne room. Apparently, the late guest that Crowley mentioned had arrived.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Wish Scribe.

 

@@PathfinderCS,

 

Wish turned to Pathfinder as she started to walk - shrugged a little with an expression somewhere between a forced smile and lingering frustration.

 

"Well... yeah, there is that. That's just the worst part though. The extreme." She explained "It's not like I just go around mindlessly assuming that having a horn makes someone evil or anything - unicorns just tend to be... well, stuck up! Nearly all of them are rude, arrogant, self entitled and demanding - always looking down on everyone else as if they're some kind of superior race or something..."

 

She paused as if finished, but quickly resumed her speech as if feeling the need to justify herself.

 

"... and it's not like many of them ever prove me wrong either! I've known maybe three or four who turned out to be... y'know, not condescending and selfish. Scribe always told me that I had to look out for myself - not let them push me around. He knew what they were like..."

 

Shaking her head, she suddenly seemed to realise that Pathfinder himself was probably not particularly happy about her bad mouthing his race, especially when he seemed so determined to remain neutral. She winced at her own stupidity.

 

"Oh buck... Sorry, I didn't mean... I just needed to vent: I get so angry sometimes!" Her voice had suddenly switched to a hurried, nervous and barely comprehensible babble. "I mean, you haven't done anything! Oh dear... I didn't... uh... y'know, mean to sound like... that." She finished weakly.

 

"Just ignore me, please. I'm only going to saying something even more insulting otherwise. Why can't I just keep my mouth shut? Ugh..."

Edited October 25, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Driz 1,552]

"Maya, I understand the grudge you hold against us, but we aren't asking you to do this for us. We're asking you to do it for everypony. Please understand that..." She explained to the unicorn, her voice soft and gentle.

 

"I know, princess... I know." Maya said in a somewhat sorrowful voice, letting go of all the frustration with a deep sigh. With that, she gave Celestia a last look before lowering her head. 

 

As the time passed, she began asking herself if there truly were equally important things at stake aside from her own goals. Deep inside, Maya knew that she wasn't going to succeed achieving said goals on her own and, if she were to receive a helping hoof from the others, she would have to do the same for them. Nevertheless, she wasn't used to being part of a group. Perhaps that would be something worth learning.

 

"there is no reason for such antagonism. Besides you aren't truly being objective if you let your emotions get the better of you."

 

Maya turned towards Whisper with a puzzled expression, which then turned into a smile.

 

"They started it!" She said jokingly, followed by a short laugh as she followed Luna towards the castle library. She hated to admit it, but losing control of her emotions was something that happened quite frequently, indeed. Even though she tried, and wanted to remain positive, she didn't consider that to be a decently good start to their mission.

[Scribblegroove 565]

@, @@PathfinderCS, @@IridscentNionios, @, @@Driz

 

"Come on lads, we can continue at the library. We'll have direct access to an enormous amount of information." He said to Wish Scribe and Pathfinder, proceeding to follow the princesses to the library. On his way there, he met the zebra named Mastema by the door, who had just arrived. "Ah, Mastema." He fell silent for a moment and frowned. He wanted to say something about him being late, but they were on a tight schedule. "Well, better late than never. Come along with us now, I'll explain everything to you on the way." He said, with a slight sigh of annoyance that he'd have to report everything that just happened to the zebra just because of his own neglicence. Ignoring the jabs made by Whisper, as well as Wish Scribe's clumsy anecdote on unicorns, he proceeded to explain.

 

"These ponies that have been gathered here were called upon by the princesses to help them with this dire situation. The thieves that have stolen your goods are presumably far more organised than we first assumed, and have stolen several other items all over equestria, as well as recently Starswirl the Bearded's notebook. All in the same method, which makes use of a strangely powerful teleportation spell. Right now we are trying to find out more about this strange organisation by trying to deduce some facts from the goods that have been stolen, where they have been stolen and when they have been stolen. Hopefully we'll find out more about the intentions of these thieves. Secondly, the princesess and Maya Clarity, the pearl unicorn over there, will try to analyse the residue of magic that is left on the crime scene, hopefully to find out more about the nature of the teleportation spell and it's caster. Finally, Whisper, the other unicorn." He gestured to Whisper. "That's her... She think's she's seen the strange symbol that is associated with the organisation of thieves. It's what the teleportation spell leaves behind every time." Frowning lightly, he looked at Mastema. "I know it's a lot to digest, but that's what you get for coming late. If you want to help us, explain what the thieves have stolen from you. I heard it was quite a considerable item, but the specifics of the theft have not been revealed to me yet. An alchemical compound of some sort?"

 

Steadfastly the princesses made their way towards the Canterlot library, with the newly formed party in their wake. Conveniently the library was built within the palace itself. The entire library had been cleared since the incident, so it was empty and peaceful. It's entrance guarded by two royal guards, they were let through immediately when they saw the princesses in their presence of the group. No scholar or librarion could be seen. The only life in the room came from a seperate section in the distance. Two more guards were standing in front of it's entrance, and inside there were a two stallion unicorns. One was older and dressed in strange robes, and the other was clearly a student, anxiously holding a notebook, with a quill hovering over it to take notes.

 

The older unicorn looked up and smiled, one brow raised. "Ah, Celestia. I see our heroes have arrived?" His rich and powerful voice stood in strong contrast with his age. A small set of glasses was balanced on his nose, and his long grey mane fell almost all the way to his shoulders. Adressing to all the others, he introduced himself. "Greetings, my name is Vrael, one of the arch-magi, and counsellor of the School of gifted unicorns. I've been studying the crime scene closely for a while now." A slightly apologetic look appeared on his face. "Sadly without much result. I have deduced where the thief has been teleported towards, namely higher up towards the mountain, but not much more have I concluded from my research..." He stepped back a little and took a seat on one of the benches in the library next to a table with a few books on them. "I suppose I'll take a break and leave it to you now. Feather, would you come here and show me those notes? I want to review them." The old stallion's assitant and student quickly trotted over to him and handed the notebook over, proceeding to take a seat next to him. The poor young scholar was a nervous wreck and could collapse any moment, but the old magus didn't seem to notice. He was already reading through the notes, busy with something completely different, leaving the group of ponies to their work.

 

"Very well Vrael. Go ahead everypony, the library is all yours. Just don't break anything..." Celestia announced. Stepping closer to the strange symbol scorched into the ground. The centre triangle was large enough to stand in. Looking back at Maya, she smiled at her. "Come Maya, show us what you can do." Leaning in a little closer she whispered something in her ear. "Vrael isn't that good with analysing magic. I think you'll do a far greater job with your talents." Celestia stepped back and gestured towards the symbol on the ground in an 'all yours' fashion.

 

At the same time, Luna turned to Whisper. "I believe you have the best chances to find the book in with the history seciont of this comparment of the library. Even though it's called the Starswirl the bearded section, it's actually dedicated to all magic in general. You'll find any book on ancient mages over there..." She explained, pointing her hoof at a set of bookcases to the far right of the room. "If you need help finding it don't hesitate to ask. I know my way around here."

 

Crowley gestured Mastema, Wish Scribe and Pathfinder to come with him to an empty table close to the others. "Why don't we have a look at the other information we have over here..." He said as he unloaded all of the reports and maps he had taken from the throneroom. Rolling out the larger map of equestria, he put the two smaller ones of Ponyville and the Crystal Empire rolled up to the side of the table. The folders with reports found their place over there as well. "Now as you can see most of the thefts have ocurred in the Crystal Empire and in Ponyville." He started. Pointing with one hoof to Ponyville on the map of Equestria, he used the other to grab the appropriate reports he spoke of.

 

"In Ponyville a few documents have been stolen from princess twilight's library considering her research on the powers of chaos. Besides that it seems like a few sets of smithing and construction equipment have dissapeared. Of course this could be other ponies' work, but still. It is not often that things are stolen in a peaceful village like ponyville, so it is safe to assume those were stolen by the same ciminals as well. Finally there have been reports of bright flashes of light in three seperate areas around Ponyville. However, upon investiagion of those areas and buildings around it, nothings suspiscious has been found. We have yet to send a mage over there however, so perhaps we can find out more on location..."

 

Pointing his hoof to the Crystal Empire, he grabbed another few documents. "Over here the thefts are different. An attempt has been made to steal the Crystal heart, though aparrently it has failed. The culprit was not caught. Other things stolen were several gemstones from the crystal mines, as well as a whole lot of mining equipment. Oil lamps, pickaxes, materials for shafts and rails. It's quite strange really, as if they were planning to build a mine on their own..." He shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure what to think of that... A lot of the mining is done with explosives, but getting those, or even a recipe to explosive compounds is something even they couldn't have been able to steal. Far too rare, and nopony knows precisely where you can find it, or who knows how to make them..."

 

"Uhh..." An insecure voice came from the entrance of the section they were in. It was one of the guards, who looked at Celestia. "Your highness? There is a... situation here. A strange duo calling themselves Whisper and Wanderlust are desperately trying to get into the library and wish to speak to you. Should we arrest them for trespassing or should we let them through?" He swallowed and scrached his head under his helmet. "They seem really desperate and sincere your majesty..."

 

Looking up, Celestia raised a brow. "Really? How strange." For a moment she fell silent and thought. She then stepped out of the Starswirl the Bearded section and nodded to the guard. "Let them through and bring them to me..." She said, though she didn't seem very certain of herself, but the guard had already left to deliver the message. Luna, who was still standing in the other room, gave her a suspiscious look. "Are you certain sister?" Celestia replied with another nod. Luna gave her one last look before returning her attention to the others, and mostly the symbol scorched into the ground. 

 

@@RunsWithSquirlz, @@Torrent505

 

Escorted by two guards, a red-maned deer and a stallion earth pony with a green coat entered the Library. Celestia spoke to them with a regal, strict voice, perhaps even slightly annoyed. "So, why do the two of you need to enter the library so badly? There is a very good reason we restricted everypony from entering. I have very important business to get back to, so explain yourselves quickly. Why are you causing such unrest?"

[Torrent505 370]

Wanderlust looked rather disheveled and was leaning on Whisper a bit when they first entered, he looked like he might nod off at any moment but he pushed away from his deer companion starting to walk on his own and trying to keep his head held high once he realized he was in the presence of the princess, within in sight of the other and still he managed to bow deeply to them when he stopped before Celestia. "Your highness... I don't suppose saying it's what my cutie mark is telling me would be enough..." he put a hoof to his mouth right after saying it, then rubbed his puffy eyes with the dark circles under them. The stallion despite clearly being a young adult didn't even have a cutie mark. "I actually said that out loud. I'm so sorry your highness, I'm rather nervous and I tend to try and joke when I'm tired... Nervous! I joke when I'm nervous but I'm so tired, I..." He gave a growl and a heavy sigh, then took several deep calming breathes.

 

"Please give me a chance to start over... My name is Wanderlust and... gods I'm going to sound like a nutcase but I think I'm supposed to stop you from doing something horrible." He tripped a little on his words again, "By accident, I'm sure of course, the royals would never hurt anypony on purpose... probably." He seemed to be rambling off track again the last part meant to just be a silent thought, Whisper nudged him to try and help him refocus. "R-right! Um, well... WHISPER thinks I've had a vision." He couldn't help but throw his best friend in front of that speeding cart crash of a concept, she was the one that insisted it was true after all.

 

But once he'd finally gotten the idea off his tongue, to the Princess of the Sun no less, he was sure it was the truth no matter how foolish. He gave rather contented sigh, his posture changed, he stopped swaying, his eyes seemed more awake and confident; he could hold the princess's gaze and finally stopped stammering. "She's never steered me wrong before and was training to be the nature priestess for her tribe... It doesn't just feel like some reoccurring nightmare and I got terrible headaches and pains when we traveled any direction except for, well here to you. We've been traveling over a week, I've had it every night, so please listen to us."

 

"In the nightmare something horrible is going to happen and has happened..." He gestures his hoof about trying to drag it to the front of his mind, "It's difficult to remember, there's an unending darkness creating a freezing winter to blanket the earth but also the sky with a sun raining teardrops that kill. Mother Nature and life itself slowly fading from sight calling out to hold on to brilliant seeds of light." Wander shook his head looking dismayed, "I'm sorry, it's all jumbled and mi-" his eyes locked with the sign scorched into the library floor. "That! That symbol it's everywhere in the dream! Carved into the trees, engraved on buildings, across the flaming sun, in the snow, a shadow on the moon!" He locks eyes with Celestia, dark tired eyes intense all the same, "Princess please whatever that sign is for, no matter what your trying to do please stop. If the burning sun and freezing night represent you and your sister it's going to do something terrible to you and then you're going to do something terrible to the world..." Wanderlust swallowed loudly and trembled a little moving closer to Whisper, he realized it sounded like he was either threatening or accusing the two rulers of a nation, two of the most powerful beings on the planet of something terrible. That probably wasn't about to go over with them too well.

[The Elusive Cinder 1,328]

Wish Scribe.

 

"Huh, how old are these maps? They don't even show half-moon pass on them!" Wish grumbled, though more out of jest than genuine complaint. In truth, she would have loved to own some of these grand examples of... whatever the fancy word for 'maps' was.

 

She looked over the maps as she went over the facts in her head.

 

"They didn't get the heart? She asked - tapping the Crystal Kingdom on the map. Perhaps it was experience with unusual situations, or perhaps it was the hundreds of adventure stories she had read in her youth, but Wish was already piecing together possibilities in her head... and they weren't pretty.

 

She pointed out the other notable location on the map - Ponyville. She had heard that Scribe was living there, but he was never anywhere to be seen when she had gone searching.

 

"I assume the disturbances here were before the 'attempt' on the heart? And they didn't have any problems getting anything else? They just failed to take..."

 

She shook her head - before freezing. was she correct? A better question was if it was worth chancing that she wasn't.

 

"Crowley, you need to send someone to the Crystal Kingdom. Guards, Soldiers... I don't know, someone who can keep order!" The adventurer insisted with sudden force. "They didn't fail at all: they didn't want to steal the heart!"

 

Making a circling motion around the small village on the map.

 

"Chaos magic, that's the stuff that corrupts unquestioningly? Turns something into it's opposite, so light is dark, hot is cold... that kind of thing?"

 

Once more, she rapped a hoof against the Crystal Kingdom with urgency.

 

"And we've got somebody who hasn't had any problem breaking into this place and stealing from right beneath the noses of both princesses, fail to take sometime that's often on display to the public? I'm not buying it." She frowned - still unsure how the mining stuff fit in to the puzzle. That could wait though. "Crowley, what sort of effect do you think a dark, corrupting influence - one that mirrors whatever it touches - would have on an Element if Harmony: one that is solely responsible for the peace, warmth and love of an entire nation? What about with Star-swirls research behind it as well?"

Edited October 26, 2014 by Cinderscribe

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

Pathfinder had wanted to respond to Wish's words, but he had to put that aside when Crowley laid out the maps in front of them. As expected, they were of Ponyville and the Crystal Empire. As per his usual methods he began visually inspecting both while keeping is ears open to what was being said around them.

 

 

 

 "Sadly without much result. I have deduced where the thief has been teleported towards, namely higher up towards the mountain, but not much more have I concluded from my research..."

 

"Mountains...," he mumbled to himself. But what mountains is he referring to? Of course it couldn't the crystal mines in the mountain on which Canterlot sits...of course anything is possible. There were plenty of mountain ranges in Equestria that either had not been explored in great depth, or were entirely ignored. Even fleets of Pegasi would have trouble dealing with the wind and climate of the highest and most dangerous of peaks.

 

Of course just saying that is where they tracked that one teleportation doesn't mean that is where their home base is at. Right now there were so many possibilities that it would make any navigator's head spin. Regardless, he kept his eyes on the maps, and his ears open, especially when Crowley and Wish Scribe spoke.

 

"So, documents aside, they have stolen various bits of construction and mining equipment," he asked, thinking. He kept his mouth shut when Wish Scribe began piecing elements together. He was quite impressed with her intuition. She made her skills well known to him with that.

 

"Vrael mentioned something about mountains," he stated. "Maybe you aren't too far off Crowley. Maybe they suspect or know something is in the mountains. Why else would they need all this equipment? They have a big operation going on at one of the mountain ranges here...of course, it's hard for me to say where." He frowned a bit, the gears in his head spinning.

 

"Wish Scribe may be right, and I have a feeling this group is likely in a VERY tough to reach area. Those transportation spells aren't just for use to get to the farm and back."

[Convergence 83]

Whisper rolled her eyes at the entrance of another pony this late into the meeting. This one was a zebra, as if this group couldn't get any stranger. "At least I will get to know a zebra, I haven't met too many of those." As Luna made her way to the library, Whisper followed silently. "Hopefully that book contains something useful and isn't just a dead end." 

 

When they finally reached the library, the Princesses made sure that everypony was put to work. Maya was investigating magical residues, the others examining documents and Whisper was given the important task of finding the book. "I'm starting to see what my place is here."  Sighing, Whisper began to walk towards the section of library that Luna pointed out. Before she made it five steps, a bumbling guard entered the library, and then Celestia allowed two more ponies to further interrupt the group.

 

The appearance of the dishevelled couple could only make Whisper lift her hoof to her forehead as she shook her head. Suddenly, fire erupted through her blood as she realized, "I have no control."  Before she could stop herself, Whisper was staring daggers at Celestia. Shocked at the sudden intensity, she shook her head and took a deep breath.

 

Whisper approached Luna and said softly, "I can find that book, but I can't make sense of it myself." She smirked as she continued, "seeing how busy everypony else is, it will be of little use. I just need some time," she sighed. Looking into Luna's eyes, Whisper smiled, "If you find the time, I would like the opportunity to talk to you privately." The mirth in her voice sounded completely hollow.

 

Turning her back, Whisper began walking to the section of the library that hopefully contained the book. It didn't take too long for her to stumble upon an extremely familiar spine sitting atop the highest shelf. Pulling it off the shelf, she took  a quick look at the cover, "yup, this is it. " She didn't even bother to open it as she walked towards an empty corner of the library. Finding a large and empty area, Whisper carelessly tossed the book on the ground.

 

Taking a deep breath, Whisper reared as her horn burst into a bright silver hue. Three black daggers suddenly appeared around her and were launched toward the ceiling. They stopped just short of the roof and fell towards Whispers head. The blades narrowly missing her as she caught them with her magic. As she spun the daggers around herself, she began to smile. Their motion grew faster until her eyes began to burn with an intense passion. In swift movements the daggers danced through her dress, the torn fabric falling to the ground in perfect diamond shapes. Bottles and scrolls fell to the ground and rolled across the room, miraculously unharmed.

 

Instantly, Whisper began to sidestep and began punching with her forelegs. The daggers followed in wide slashes and sharp jabs. It did not take long for sweat to start wetting her hide as she sparred enemies that weren't there. 

[IridscentNionios 1,420]

@@Scribblegroove, @, @@PathfinderCS, @@Driz, While the others talked Mastema contemplated. They had tried to steal many things from him but that wasn't the half of what they seemed to get. Maybe it would help his thought process if he talked about things they had stolen from him

"Yea... Well nobody steals from Mastema and gets away with it! I guess i should tell you what they stole from me. Many things... most of which fall under the category of magical catalysts. That means that what they are trying to do is pretty hard. You mentioned chaos magic right? As far as i know chaos magic specializes in changing the nature of everything around it. As you may know Alchemy specializes in that sector... it's known to us alchemists that this part of science evolved due to the need to convert other items to precious metals including gold. But the science itself seems to have surpassed this. I believe the Crystal heart itself was not stolen due to its' current function. Anyone smart enough will realize that this organization isn't benevolent at all.

He just sat on his hind legs pondering the things that could happen with the heart. Wait a minute... "You said they stole the Crystal Heart. See i haven't studied the heart itself but crystals have many properties, transformative and amplificative. This means they excel at amplifying magic. What they need it for is to widen the radius of the magic they are casting. They intend to cast something that will envelop all of Equestria in its' effect. If it's got something to do with chaos magic then certainly it won't be good. They stole for me magical catalysts to facilitate it. The book probably is going to help them with that, i wouldn't be surprised if Starswirl's book had to do something with that. The magic they are trying to cast is possibly new and unknown. Hmm... Any ideas?"

[Driz 1,552]

As they went into the library, walking past the royal guards that stood by its entrance, Maya gave them a brief, cold glance before noticing that the room had been entirely cleared out: the renowned library's books, documents and tomes were nowhere to be seen, and the air was noticeably filled with a grim vibe, as expected. She followed the group towards another section, where an elder unicorn named Vrael and presumably his assistant were already investigating the scene.

 

"Greetings, my name is Vrael, one of the arch-magi, and counsellor of the School of gifted unicorns. I've been studying the crime scene closely for a while now." A slightly apologetic look appeared on his face. "Sadly without much result. I have deduced where the thief has been teleported towards, namely higher up towards the mountain, but not much more have I concluded from my research..."

 

"The mountains?..." She quietly pondered to herself, clearly unsatisfied by the vague discovery. After that, Maya started looking around the room, once again absentmindedly ignoring everypony else.

 

"Come Maya, show us what you can do." Leaning in a little closer she whispered something in her ear. "Vrael isn't that good with analysing magic. I think you'll do a far greater job with your talents." Celestia stepped back and gestured towards the symbol on the ground in an 'all yours' fashion.

 

Maya grew a half-smile with a huff. "Don't talk as if you knew me." She spoke harshly, trying to deny the princess' comforting words. After Vrael and his student left, she then took a few steps forward, stopping near the center of the room where the counsellor was. Still gazing upon the empty shelves of the library section, she began speaking to those who still were near enough to listen:

 

"I might as well explain what's going to happen here... Every time a unicorn casts a spell - any spell - they leave behind a magical trace, kinda like a fingerprint, which contains precise information about the spell in question and its caster. This trace remains dispersed in the air for a few days, and cannot be seen or read by bare eyes. However, there is a place called the Underworld where they can be easily perceived. As the name suggests, the Underworld is a dimension parallel to ours, where not only these magical traces are stained, but also where the souls of those who passed away reside. One that can establish a connection with the Underworld - like myself - is able to contact these souls, as well as the traces of the spells that were cast back in our world. That's what my job as a Necromancer and an Esper is, and that's what I'm going to do right now." Maya turned back to Celestia. "Go ahead and arrest me if you want." She said, sarcastically, before sitting down on the ground and closing her eyes.

 

"I'd like to ask everypony to take a step back and, under any circumstances, do not touch me. I don't want to sound obnoxious, but if I'm disturbed while connecting... well... bad things will happen." She concluded before her horn began to glow with an intense, blue aura. Her mane and the key that hanged from her necklace began to gracefully sway around, until they fell back down and Maya descended into a state of full concentration, almost looking like she was asleep.

 

...

 

After a few minutes, Maya woke up with an abrupt movement. Immediately, she began shaking frenetically as she brought a hoof to her head. She was in shock, sweating like crazy as if, ironically enough, she had seen a ghost. Her pupils were shrunken and her lips trembled as she tried to form words, but nothing came out.

 

"C... Ce... Ce... Cele...!"

[Scribblegroove 565]

@@RunsWithSquirlz, @@Torrent505, @, @@PathfinderCS, @@IridscentNionios, @, @@Driz

 

Crowley closed his eyes and thought for a moment. The three of them did make a few good points, but there were a few things he'd had to clear up. They were getting closer to a conclusion however, so he didn't want to discourage them. "Right... For starters, the Crystal Heart could not be stolen because it's magically fixed in place. It's been like that since Sombra was defeated and locked deep into the crystal mountains. It's strange, because this organisation seems very informed about everything. Surely they must've known that the Crystal Heart couldn't be stolen... Maybe you are right. They didn't want to steal it, but perhaps do something with it, or just research it. Your idea about chaos magic might be a shot in the right direction, but as far as I know nopony could conjure chaos magic except for Discord himself. He holds all of the powers of Chaos by himself." His eyes brightened, and he put his hoof to his head. "I just remembered, Twilight sent us a message a while ago that Discord wasn't feeling right. He's not sick, but he does feel awful, and he's less in control of his powers. I completely forgot this. Perhaps this could have something to do with the thieves as well..." He thought out loud.

 

Turning to Pathfinder, he smiled. "I don't know, but I think that moving all that mining equipment from the Crystal empire would be almost impossible to do so unnoticed. Even with as much power as we think they have now, they wouldn't be able to transport all that equipment over such a long distance." He paused, and looked at the crystal mines on the map. "If they are planning to do anything with it, they'd be doing it over there. It would be far too much work to get all of those things halfway across equestria..."

 

Looking at Mastema, he frowned. "Well, they didn't steal the Crystal Heart, but a lot of gemstones, including crystals, have been stolen from the mines. Perhaps they plan to use your recipe for those catalysts, they will use it with those gemstones I'm sure. So many things could be done with those pieces of magical equipment." He scratched his head and frowned even deeper, closing his eyes. "I mentioned that more pieces of magical equipment have been stolen. Lenses. I think you are right Mastema. They are planning to unleash enormous amounts of power on Equestria..."

 

But then he placed both his hooves on the map. "But I think they're planning to do it twice. A lot of the objects they've stolen in Ponyville and the Crystal Empire can be stolen in a lot of other places too. I think they have two, maybe three bases of operation in both Ponyville and the Crystal Empire, and they're planning to do something in both areas. What they are going to be up to, I don't know. This could turn out to be an extremely dire situation... All we have to figure out first is where to go. Ponyville, or the Crystal Empire. That means, we have to consider which place is most at risk as of now. Where do we think it is most urgent to go to... The Crystal Empire, where these criminals are planning to do something strange with mines in the Crystal Mountains, and the Crystal Heart, or Ponyville, where they have focussed on the forces of Chaos. And keep in mind that they've gathered a vast arsenal of magical equipment that they can use to create enormous rituals. It is something that has to be built and be prepared first, but once they are done it will be an immensely powerful spell..." He sighed. "Once you are on location you will be able to find out more about the nature of their plans. You can check the Crystal Heart and the Crystal Mines, or perhaps scan the area for any other mines... Or in Ponyville you could visit Discord, or check the locations where the flashes have been reported..."

 

Crowley noticed that Whisper had taken quite a long time to find her book. He was quite perceptive and had kept track of that. Looking up he tried to find her, but he didn't see her anywhere. "I'll leave that to you then. If you have concluded where you think it would be best to go, let me and the others know. I'm going to check up on somepony..." He frowned and softly grunted. "Don't come check on us..."

 

As Crowley made his way towards Whisper, Luna had bent herself over Maya, who seemed to be in an awful lot of trouble. "Maya, Maya! I'm here. What is going on." Bowing down, she felt bad for the poor unicorn. She seemed to be in terror, and Luna tried to comfort her by whispering into her ear. "You're safe here. Whatever you just saw, it won't hurt you. Calm down..." She carefully sat down next to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. "What has happened? What frightened you so much?" Even though Luna knew that Maya was quite hostile towards her and her sister, the way she had called for Celestia so desperately had scared her a little. A worried look could be seen on her face, her eyes showed confidence and reassurance, but a glint of fear could be seen as well. 

 

While all that was going on in the background, Celestia looked a bit skeptically at the confused stallion in front of her. A little frightened even. Celestia had gotten a special knack for feeling someponies honesty and sincerity. Wanderlust seemed very certain of himself, and perfectly sincere of his good intentions, but he also seemed very confused, and if she hadn't known better she'd think he were insane. But deep inside she knew that she'd have to take this poor stallion's concerns seriously.

 

"Listen... Wanderlust was it? I can see that you are trying to help, and that you're being honest about all this..." She paused for a moment, trying to make sure that what she was about to say wouldn't be misinterpreted. "But surely you can see that we cannot just assume what you are saying is true. If you truly do have these visions, and they are not simply vivid dreams, then still you could be misinterpreting it completely... Luna and I are not planning to make anything happen. In fact, we're trying to stop something from happening. A grand conspiracy is slowly being revealed to us now, and we are trying to find a way to stop whatever sinister these conspirators might be up to...." For a moment she was thinking about sending the stallion away, but the fact that he had recognised the symbol couldn't be ignored. "You have seen the symbol before? In your dreams, or visions..? That does say something about the legitimacy of your pleas."

 

Celestia felt that deep inside this was an omen. A sign. The visions that he had described were things she had seen in the past as well. Visions that she had had. "I've had similar visions a long, long time ago. I know how you feel, and how terribly dark things may seem all of the sudden, but you have to trust us. We are trying to prevent something from happening. Perhaps you trying to stop us from doing that will cause your vision to become truth instead!" She had a feeling that they could make good use of the oracular powers of this stallion, and she was certain he was being genuine. "In turn I will put my trust in you. You feel that the direction you are going in is the right path, because otherwise you are plagued with headaches? Perhaps you can help us... But I'm not certain if you are up to the task. You see, behind me here a group has gathered to travel off to stop a criminal organisation from doing... something... We're not sure what yet, but we have our ideas. If you are willing to travel along with them, you might be able to notice when we're not going the right way... Do you think you can do this? We can explain everything to you further if you can show us you're being genuine and can make an addition to this group. I believe you can, but you'll have to convince the others." Celestia was still quite uncertain if this was the right way to react to the situation.  Strangely she could relate quite a lot to the stallion. His body language, his way of speaking and thinking, his eyes. She had gone through all that as well. She wondered how he got these augural powers.

[RunsWithSquirlz 274]

Whisper was glad Wanderlust took point. As soon as she entered the castle she had been rendered speechless. Even more so in the presence of the princesses.

 

The paintings her tribe had of the two did not do them justice. And Celestia was so tall! The magic radiating off the two was powerful and made her shuffle nervously in place. Whisper glanced down at Wanderlust and gave him a reassuring smile.

 

Would he take the princesess offer? They seemed to harbor disbelief.